What happened after Mockingjay
by mimi55337
Summary: Here will be explained what happened after Mockingjay. How, everything was handled, Katniss' and Peeeta's kids names, and age of everybody. This will be multi-chaptered. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Are we really having this conversation again?"

"Katniss, I don't want to know how to shoot that thing!" Peeta complained, pointing at the arrow I was holding.

"But you agreed to do it yesterday. I want you to know how to protect yourself if anything bad happens again," I said, getting irritated with him.

"What, do you think all hell is going to break loose again, and we are going to be thrown back into the Hunger Games?"

"No… Maybe. I don't know, Peeta! The Hunger Games aren't the only bad thing that happened! You went to war. _I_ went to war _with_ you. Primrose Everdeen, my little sister, died from going to war. What if another one sneaks up on us, and they are trying to get to you, not me?" I'm yelling now. I lose my mind when I have to think about

"What are the odds of that?" Peeta said, rolling his eyes dramatically. I just glared at him. "Katniss, look me in the eye and listen." I did as I was told. "When I went to war, when _you_ went to war, something happened. I know we weren't behind everything that happened then, even if you can't stand to believe it, but we- no, _you_- ended that war. You understand? I still remember watching that video of you in the arena, when you shot that arrow… You didn't even know what you were causing… but all of your actions, from shooting President Coin to teaming up with Maggs, for crying out loud- that ended it all. _You_ are the reason we are alive today. The reason we have children-" We both glance at their bedroom door, our son Jemiah and our daughter Madeline "-the reason we even have a family. _You_ saved us from everything, Katniss, so please don't be afraid. Relax yourself and enjoy what you have done, what we have created. Please."

"What, so you think I can just… forget everything that happened? I still have nightmares, Peeta." Tears started rolling silently down my face, and Peeta pulled me into his chest, but I kept talking. "What if there is still Capitol left, in hideout? What if they come for me, for you, for _them_?" I continue to cry my heart out, thinking back to Prim and Maggs and Finnick and Rue and the people I killed, until my sobs turned to whimpers, and finally nothing at all. Peeta lifted me up and carried me back to our room down the hall and put me on the bed, my head on a pillow.

He looks into my face solemnly. "Nothing will happen. I promise you. But if it makes you feel better, you can teach me how to shoot tomorrow. You can show me every day for the next month. But get some rest. You're exhausted."

He crawls into bed beside me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling my back to his chest. He buried his face in my hair, which was to my waist now, as he did every night. I heard his breathing slow and felt his grip loosen on my waist. As soon as I know he is deeply under, I pull his hands from around me and pad down the hall to the kids' room.

I open the door and walk over to Madeline's bed. I look at her little porcelain face, and watch as her chest rises and falls. I do this almost every night, to make sure my babies are OKAY. I run my finger down her cheek, feeling its softness. I stay there a moment before I go check on Jemiah.

When I get to the bed, I almost laugh out loud. Like every night, he is sprawled across his whole bed. But tonight it's almost unbearable to not wake him up and readjust him, because his whole lower half is hanging off the side of the bed. Hold my breath as to not make a sound, I grab his feet and pull his legs around, placing them back on the end of the bed. As usual, he doesn't even stir. Jemiah is the heaviest sleeper I have ever seen, even heavier a sleeper than Peeta.

I think back to when Peeta and I were in the arena our first Hunger Games, and finding the parachute with the sleep syrup. I fed it to Peeta and went to go get his medicine, running out into the field…

And I was sucked back into the memory. It happens a lot, when I think about the arena, and I get sucked back into the memories. I black out and relive it. Over and over again

And this time is just as bad as any.

_I remember grabbing the little orange backpack, putting it on my wrist._

_I remember Clove running at me, throwing knives. I remember one cutting me above my brow._

_I remember her sitting on my chest, about to cut me apart…_

"Mommy!" "Mommy, wake up please!" "MOMMY!"

Crying.

Yelling.

And I know I'm back to reality. Those are my children. That's my husband's hand, stroking my face.

I open my eyes. I see my children and Peeta leaning over my face, staring worriedly down at me. Peeta's face has less worry than my kids', because they have never seen this happen before. But Peeta has. Many times. He lived through it with me.

"Honey, it's okay. I heard something hit the floor, and you were lying in here. But you're alright, you're alright…" Peeta reassured me, over and over. He kept stroking my hair until my tears stopped, and I sat up. He got me back to bed, left the room for 5 minutes to put the kids back to bed, and came back to our room and sat on the edge of the bed next to me.

I looked up at him. "We have to tell them everything that happened. Everything." I whispered, not wanting to believe it.

"I know." He whispered back, stroking my cheek. "I don't want to, either."  
I looked at him knowingly. "Soon. Very soon."

And then the realization hit me. We _would_ have to tell them soon. Too soon for my taste. If I could handle it, I didn't know.

But we would have to tell them soon.

Tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke to the sound of yelling.

"Mommy, Daddy, Mommy! Wake up!" my 8 year old son was yelling.

I shot bolt upright, searching for the danger. "What happened, Jemiah?"

"It's Madeline! She's gone!" he sobbed.

I took a moment to glance at Peeta, then sprinted for the kids' bedroom.

When I got there, Madeline's bed was empty. I started to hyperventilate. I ran down the stairs and looked in the kitchen, then the living room, then the dining room. Nowhere to be seen. I ran out to the front yard by myself, knowing Peeta will stay with our son.

I run to the square, now built with fit buildings, and not the run down old little town it used to be, and asked everybody if they had seen her. My Madeline. My baby. But I get the same answer: that she is nowhere to be found. _This_ is the worst of my fears: that something would happen to my children.

I run to the broken fence- still there, because my only wish was that they kept it there; it was symbolic to me, representing my survival, and what Gale and I had before…- and crawled through my old hunting hole. I ran through the woods like a madman, yelling out her name, scaring away good game. But that didn't matter. I didn't need game anymore.

I run and run, for how many miles, I wasn't sure. Until I see a piece of pink fabric, drifting through the woods, and I know it is her dress, the one I made for her for her birthday last month in June. I run to it, run to her. I see her there now, walking, her back to me. I don't pay much attention to anything else, and I slam myself into her, hugging her, not thinking of anything else, except for that my baby is safe, my 13 year old child is ok.

Until I hear her complaining, that's when I put her down. And then my senses open up, and I search for the danger. I look around us, and do find somebody else. My reflexes bring my hand back to grasp for an arrow at my shoulder, but I do not have my bow with me.

Instead, I study him. He looks to be about the same age as my daughter, with short dark hair and blue eyes, slightly taller than Madeline. Then my memory clicks, and I recognize him as Johnny, a boy from Madeline's school. Still, I push Madeline behind me and search for danger. When I find none, I start to relax. No danger. My daughter is fine.

"Mom! What are you doing here?" Madeline complains. I glance back at here to see her embarrassed expression.

"You weren't there when I woke up." I said through clenched teeth, getting angry now.

"Well…" she began, glancing toward Johnny apologetically, but I cut her off.

"Don't you EVER do that to me again, you hear?" I'm yelling now. "I thought something happened to you. What were you doing out here, both of you, all by yourselves?" My anger is pouring through my pores. Madeline cringes away from me, but not because she is scared of me. I can see on her face that she was sorry for doing that to me, and she was only _now_ thinking about how her actions affected everybody else.

"I'm sorry Mom! We just wanted to hang out. And we both like the forest, so we came here. And I know you like the forest too, so I thought this place would be safe, and you could find me easily. I'm sorry." She looked really scared now, like I might bite off one of their heads now.

"Yeah, Mrs. Mellark. I asked Madeline to come hang out with me in here this morning, before you guys woke up. We didn't think it was that big a deal. It's my fault." Johnny said to me earnestly.

But still, I wasn't falling for their crap. "Damn right, it's your fault. Madeline would never do this on her own." I grabbed Madeline by the arm and started hauling her towards the square. "I'm taking you home. Say good bye."

"But, Mom-"

"Don't you 'but mom' me, little girl. We are going to have a serious talk with your father."

She looked at me as if I just slapped her. Nobody wanted a _talk_ with Peeta. He may have been loving all those years-and still is loving- but when it came to our kids, there was no messing around.

"Bye, Johnny," she said sadly.

When we got to the house, I hauled Madeline inside, closing the door behind me. I called out to Peeta, and a minute later he was down the stairs. Jemiah wasn't with him. Peeta must have told him to stay in his room.

"I found her." I told Peeta.

He looked at Madeline sternly for so long that I was about to tell him what she had been doing. I usually didn't get in-between him and the kids when he was dealing with a situation, but it has never been anything as major as this.

But when Peeta responded, he didn't yell; his voice was ice cold an serious. "What, in the name of God, were you doing, Madeline." He didn't say it as a question.

"I-I was… I was just…"

"_Out_ with a boy." I said for her.

Peeta just looked at me, waiting for me to explain. He couldn't even look at his own daughter, he was so angry and upset. This experience had scarred us forever- the possibility of losing a child. I now know how my mother felt when Prim got reaped, and I took her place. One child being in danger is enough. I don't think I could process both.

But I did explain. How I ran all over creation, and she was with a boy in the woods. How she thought the woods were the safest place, but there could be hidden things in there, waiting to grab at her.

"But how was I supposed to know? You always go into the woods. I hear you and Dad talking at night. You go there all the time. I'm not stupid. Why can you go and I can't?"

"Because I am a mature adult and I can make my own decisions and know the risks I'm taking! You're just a child! You don't know! Yes, Madeline, you are stupid. You just don't know anything. Do you know what was going on 20 years ago? Do you understand that life wasn't as perfect as it is now for you? It wasn't _nearly_ as perfect. But I'm going to explain it to you now, even if this isn't how me or Peeta wanted you to find out…"

And then it spilled. All of it, just spilled all over the ground and came out of us, me and Peeta. We explained everything, told her everything. How Auntie Primrose was reaped, and I went in for her, how the games worked and our scores for betting, how we killed people and survived, how Rue died in my arms. How we lived on, Snow threatening me, us going back into another games and watching more people die, me blowing apart the field. Peeta almost dying so many times. He was taken, I saved him, he didn't trust me… Gale, who I haven't seen since I was arrested and came here. How Auntie Primrose got blown up and burned to death in front of me. Not a single detail left out. My mom, who still lives here in town and I visit her all the time, and she loves her grandchildren so much…

And when we were done explaining everything, it had taken hours. And it was quiet. Nobody said a word. Madeline looked like someone just died in her arms. But she wouldn't know that feeling. She would never know.

Finally, I spoke through my tears. "See, when your gone, we go through that again, over and over. I don't care if you want to date a boy- that's the least of my worries. But you better tell us when you're leaving, who you're seeing. And I don't want you talking to your brother about this. He's too young to understand. But I want you to be careful. You're my little girl, my baby Maddy, and if something happens to you…" I start crying again into Peeta's shoulder. It's done and over with, we explained everything. I handled it. But now the effect was snapping back in my face, and I broke down. And I didn't want my daughter to see this.

I think Peeta agreed with me. "Maddy, go up to your room. It's ok. We'll talk to you later." She started to walk away- more like run because I'm sure she didn't want to get yelled at anymore -but before she left the room Peeta called out," And you're grounded for 2 weeks. You aren't to leave this house."

Sighing, Madeline went to her room.

But I barely gave any notice to this scene. I just cried and cried until it was dark. And even then, silent tears were running down my face as I made my family dinner. I ate about 4 bites, but I couldn't look at my family right now. I got up from the table and ran up the stairs to the bedroom, and threw myself on the bed. Within seconds I was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! I never do author's notes, so this may be weird. I'm going to write them more often though, I think. But I just wanted to say thanks for reading my stuff guys. I totally appreciate it! Also, about this chapter, you may or may not like what I do with it, but the idea is just popping into my head right this second, so I'm going to write it. But I think you will like the ending a lot. Maybe. But, just, keep reading, and review at the bottom of this page for what you think about it! Read on!**

When I woke up, I glanced over to the other side of the bed. Peeta wasn't there. But that was normal. He would be down making breakfast for the kids.

I crawled out of bed and went over to the closet. I picked out a nice new dress I bought last week at the square that I hadn't worn yet. It was pink at the base, but faded up toward my chest into a pale yellow. It reached to just bellow my knees, with a light material. It had spaghetti straps on my shoulder. Just a summer dress, nothing fancy.

I took it out and put it on my bed. I walked out, down the hall and into the bathroom, where I took a shower. I thoroughly scrubbed myself, on every inch of my body, trying to scrape away all my haunts and terrors, and the horrible memory of last night. Scraping away the embarrassment of breaking down in front of my child, of leaving dinner early. Since my children were born, I always finished my meals with them. No matter what happened, how upset I was, I always finished through because it could have been my last family reunion with them and my husband. But last night was too much.

When I was done in the shower, I dried my hair, brushed through it softly, thinking of Cinna- Still thinking of Cinna, all these years later. I put my hair up in an intricate braid atop my head, trying something new for a new day. I put lotion on my newly shaved legs and, wrapping my towel around my body, walked back to my bedroom, shut the door, and put my dress on.

Looking in the mirror on the back of the door, I looked different. I looked like I had gained a little wait -which was good, considering that I was only 105 lbs after giving birth to Jemiah- but it was something else. I couldn't quite place it. Was it my hair color? My face shape? My body figure?

Maybe that was it. I concentrated more on my torso area, still not quite placing it. I stare from my chest down to my stomach, turning side to side, looking at my butt also, seeing if it had gotten bigger. I make the round trip again with my eyes, and again. Then I spot it, just a slight difference, on my chest. My breasts had grown in size. How 'bout that? What were the odds. I hadn't been on any special diet to improve them.

Then, as I scan once more, I see a change in my stomach. A bump was on my stomach. Maybe I was gaining weight. The only time I had ever heard of women's breasts and stomach getting bigger was when they gained weight. I know mine got more round when I put on some pounds. I am now currently 145 lbs, a good weight. I was still athletic, because I went for a run 4 times a week. But if I was exercising, why was I gaining weight? I didn't feel heavier. But I did feel bigger.

I remember this feeling from something before, trying to place it. I haven't had it recently. Now that I pay attention to myself, I do feel slightly lopsided and dizzy every once in a while, and hungry, but I suppose that's from not eating dinner the night before. Through all this I am trying to place this familiar feeling.

And then I remember where I have felt this before. Approximately 12 years ago, and then 8.

No.

_No!_

Pregnant. No. That's impossible.

Pregnant? How could I be pregnant? How was it even possible? I hadn't made love with Peeta since… 1 month ago. But how was it possible that I couldn't notice any sooner? This would explain the growth in my breasts and stomach.

But it isn't even logical. If it was true, how would I tell Peeta? How could I even deal with it? Another child? I already had two!

I started hyperventilating. This couldn't happen. I could barely protect my two children as it was, as proven the night before. A baby added would be too much. Way, way too much for me to handle. Over the top. Ridiculous. Unimaginable.

But not impossible. Definitely not impossible. Being at the age of 38, I am still able to bear children, and I wish I couldn't.

My mind starts to return to the real world. Peeta. He is downstairs right now, and he does not know I have a baby living in my stomach. Our third child.

I slowly reach my hand out and turn the door knob, wishing I could have one normal day in my life. It definitely has never been normal. The past 2 days have been overrun with activity, and I am exhausted. I feel as though I have Ice flowing through my veins, or cement holding my feet in place.

I lift my feet slowly, having to think about where to set them down. I reach the steps, and almost fall down the whole flight, but catch myself on the railing and continue to place my feet beneath me.

When I reach the bottom of the stairs, Maddy and Jemiah are laughing as they help Peeta make bacon in a pan. It sizzles and pops. But I barely notice that. I stand there for many minutes before Peeta notices my presence, and when he turns around, he turns off the stove, moves the pan off the hot surface, and walks over to me quickly. He wipes away tears that have fallen without me noticing, barks an order at the kids, and takes me out the front door. He stops in the yard and turns to face me.

"What's happened Katniss? Are you alright?" There is worry in his voice.

"Peeta…" I lean in to him, encouraging him to hug me while I cry now.

He just holds me tightly for a while, not saying anything. It's been at least a half hour before he pulls back and holds me by the shoulders, looking me in the eye. His face is soft but serious.

"Katniss, I need you to tell me what's wrong, or I can't help you," he pleaded with me, sadness in his face.

"Peeta… Peeta, I'm pregnant." I say, looking away. I don't want to see the anger in his face at this. I am angry enough.

Silence. He doesn't answer for so long, I almost look up to see his horrified expression. But then Peeta pulls me into the tightest hug, kissing the top of my head. I cry harder.

"Katniss, I love you so much." He says.

"What do you mean, you love me? I'm having another baby! What are we going to do?" I sob into his chest.

"Keep it. We will love it like we do our other two children."

"That's the point though, Peeta. We don't need any more than we already have. We can barely take care of what we've got!" I'm yelling at him now. Why doesn't he agree with me?

"Katniss, it's a miracle. We take care of our children perfectly fine. Their behavior is natural. You are the most wonderful mother I could imagine. The most perfect person on the planet for me to marry."

At that point, I just give up. I don't fight his opinion. I don't agree with him, but I don't fight him. There is still a whole day ahead of me; I better make use of it.

I disengage myself from Peeta and walk back into the house, not seeing the kids; they were in their room. I redid my hair in the bathroom. I made sure I looked decent, went down the hall and the stairs, kissed Peeta goodbye, and went out the door.

... … …

When I got to the square, everybody was greeting me and saying hello, as they usually did. I walked down the street, peeking in the windows of all the shops with no particular destination.

I passed windows with dresses and shoes, tuxedos and ties, hats and jackets. There were multiple bakeries, most of the donated to Peeta and his dead family. I bought a small chocolate cupcake from the smallest, least popular bakery. Every time I pass through the square, I always buy a small treat for myself from that same bakery.

After I am done eating, I walk down the street again. There are 2 pet stores in the square, one where you buy pets and the other you buy the pet supplies. I walk by the one that sells the animals. I've always considered buy my family a kitten or rabbit. I also thought about getting a dog or small rodent. I didn't matter to me.

As I was passing the front of the shop, I saw a box on the ground outside and a worker sitting next to it, holding a sign. It said "PUPPIES FREE".

I considered whether or not I should take one. As I got closer, I saw they were little Golden Retrievers. I've always wanted a golden retriever.

"Are they really free?" I asked the female worker. She wasn't familiar.

"Yeah, you just pick out the one you want and bring it inside and fill out the paper work."

"Ok, thank you."

I picked out the smallest one. She had light gold fur that was really fuzzy and short, and had a short snout with a pink and black nose. He licked all over my face, covering me with doggie drool.

I carried him inside through the aisles. As I turned a corner, there was a little boy about the age of three running away from his mom, who was chasing him. He was giggling and she was laughing, obviously not worried. The little boys features strangely reminded me of Gale, even though I hadn't seen him for years. He had the same hair and eyes, but a slightly different facial structure. The woman was beautiful, with long blonde hair to her waist and bright green eyes as she glanced up at me. She was about half a head shorter than me. I laugh as I watch them and continue down the aisle next to me.

As I was turning the next corner, I wasn't paying attention and rammed right into a tall man. I almost squash my puppy in-between his body and mine, and jump away on reflex.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes in a familiar voice.

"It's fine," I say as I check on my new puppy. My hair is still covering my face, so he can't see me, and I can't see him.

As I glance up, something catches my eye. He has hair just like that little boy, and the same color eyes. Then I register the rest of his face.

And I realize I'm staring into the very unfamiliar face of Gale Hawthorne.


	4. Chapter 4

Nothing.

I felt nothing.

It wasn't possible. I hadn't seen him-_Gale_-in 30 years. _Where had he been?_

He just stood there also, staring at me, not believing I was actually there. We stood there for forever-all of eternity, it felt like- but must have only been a minute or two. Soon enough, the woman and little boy came walking back to find him, wondering what he could be doing.

"Gale? Who is this?" The beautiful woman asked.

I can't breathe. I can't move, or register what's going on. I don't introduce myself. Instead I pitch forward and start falling, but before I hit the ground Gale catches me and sits me on the ground looking down at my face.

How different he looked! His features had completely changed since we were kids. He had put on a lot of weight, not as skinny as before, but not fat either. He was meaty and muscular. His face had rounded slightly. And he was _handsome_, downright gorgeous. I really wish I hadn't—

"Are you alright, Katniss?" He asks me worriedly.

"Er… no," I admit. "What are you doing here?" I ask, standing up to look at him.

"We just got into town. I wanted to see my home town again. I didn't expect to see you here…" He trailed off, trying to avoid the rest of his sentence.

"Out of everybody, I didn't expect to see you today either." I respond.

Someone cleared their throat, and I looked over at the women standing by Gale, now holding the wide-eyes child.

"Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?" She said rudely.

"Oh. Um, I'm… I'm Katniss. Katniss Mellark." I reached my hand out and she took it firmly and shook.

"I'm Emalia Hawthorne, Gale's wife. And this is Caleb, short for Calebiran. He's two and a half." She explained, indicating the little boy. "Where do you know Gale from?"

"We were friends as kids." I said dully. I already didn't like this woman; too assertive and impolite.

"Oh, that's nice. Gale and I have been married for almost four years now. We love each other very much and will be together forever." And cocky. As if I was going to try to take him away from her.

"Nice to meet you," I said, planting a fake smile on my face, hoping I looked pleased.

"Katniss, I need to talk to you." Gale said, skipping over all the Hello's that should have been present between us.

"I'm a little busy right now, Gale. How about you wait for me here, and we can all go back to my house and meet _my_ family?"

He paused. _What family?_ was probably going through his head. Fascination and irritation were plain on his face.

"Sure. That's fine." He said reluctantly.

I went up to the counter to sign the papers for the puppy, and they gave me a kennel to put her in, and we walked back to the house.

… … …

When we got to the front door, I unlocked it and walked inside, ushering them in.

"Peeta, we have guests." I called out. At the mention of Peeta's name, Gale's eyes bulged wide, but he didn't say anything. "And bring the kids," I added.

A moment later Peeta, Maddy, and Jemiah were down the stairs and by my side. I put one hand on each of my kids' shoulders and Peeta put one hand on my back.

"Madeline, Jemiah, this is Gale. I grew up with him when I was young. This is Emalia, Gale's wife, and their son Calebiran."

"You can call him Caleb." Emalia spoke up. "And who is this?" She asked, turning to Peeta.

I almost grunted from irritation. She needed some manners. "This is my husband, Peeta Mellark."

Peeta was glaring at Gale, who was returning the look. Emalia glanced nervously between them, obviously worried for Gale's safety, even though he was nearly twice the size of Peeta.

"It's great to see you again, Gale." Peeta finally said, reaching his hand out.

Gale hesitated. "It's good to see you too, Peeta." Both of their stern expressions were softening.

"You two know each other, too?" Emalia looked highly irritated with this realization.

"We all grew up together." I responded, shooting a hateful glare at her, which she returned.

"Well, that's wonderful. What are we going to do now?" Emalia said impatiently.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Peeta asked politely. I gave him an annoyed glare. I didn't trust them enough to have them be in my house for an extended period of time. Even though when I was younger I trusted Gale inevitably, I didn't know him now.

"Sure, we'd love to," Gale said, looking at my face. I tried to smile.

… … …

When the "friendly" introductions were complete, Maddy and Jemiah took the little puppy to the living room, discussing name options for her, Caleb tagging along. The adults sat on the couches, discussing what had happened over the years. Gale and Emalia had met in a biking group- surprisingly Emalia was very athletic, despite her feminine appearance- and dated each other for two years when Gale proposed to her on a three month cruise around the Caribbean. They had been married for a year and a half when Emalia got pregnant with Caleb, and he was now a little more than two years old. They were very in love.

Gale and I talked to her about how we used to be best friends until Peeta and I were put into the games- which Emalia was alive during- but didn't go into much detail about our small love life. That topic of conversation ended quickly.

"Mommy! We picked a name for her!" Jemiah and Madeline were running toward me and Peeta on the couch, Caleb hobbling and stumbling behind them, trying to keep up.

"What is it? Let me hear it." I said, smiling at them.

"Well, we like names that start with W and my favorite tree is the Willow tree, so we decided to name her Willow." Maddy responded, loving their choice.

"That's a wonderful name for her," I respond, smiling over at Peeta as the kids run off laughing with the puppy hot on their heels.

It's quiet for a moment as we all watch the kids running and playing, getting along as if they were cousins.

"Katniss, can I speak with you outside, please?" Gale asks, standing up and inching toward the front door.

"Sure." I look at Peeta. "Be back in a minute," I say, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

I follow Gale a few yards away from the house, where the people inside wouldn't be able to hear our conversation.

"I thought you were dead, Katniss." Gale jumps right into the conversation, no hesitations.

"Well, I thought you were dead too, Gale, but obviously you're not. And neither am I."

"No, Katniss, you don't understand. _I thought you were dead_. You don't know what that did to me. I used to love you Katniss, but you already know that. Think you were dead killed me. I was devastated. But you're here! You're actually alive! I don't love you like I used to, Catnip, but I sure as hell am happy to see you." And he pulls me into a crushing hug.

"Gale-" I say, hugging him back and patting his back, indicating that I can't breath.

"Sorry," he said, letting me go. "I just can't believe…"

"I know, Gale. I thought you were dead to. But we both have a family now. I have two children and one on the way-" I don't stop myself in time to avoid giving away that information.

"You're pregnant?" He gasps, looking at my stomach.

"… Yes… But, Gale, you can't tell anybody. I didn't mean to tell you. Nobody knows except Peeta."

"Of course Katniss." He promises. "But…"

"But what?"

"Katniss, my family and I don't have anywhere to stay." He admits.

"What? Where did you guys come from?"

"We were in the old district 7 area. We were staying with Emalia's Grandmother, but she passed away a week ago, so I brought her and Caleb here."

"Well, I'm sure it'll be ok with Peeta if you stay here. We have a guest bedroom upstairs." I tell him, wanting to do whatever I can for him and his family, no matter how much I dislike his new wife.

"Oh, Katniss, thank you so much. I really appreciate it," Gale says, pulling me into another tight embrace.

I bang on his arm, trying to breath. "No problem," I say as soon as he lets me go.

We walk back inside, and I tell Madeline and Jemiah to go upstairs with the puppy until dinner. As soon as they are out of the room, I tell Peeta that our guests will be staying with us as long as they need to, and he easily accepts this with no hesitation. He goes upstairs to set up the guest room while I make a chicken pot pie, and as soon as I'm done Peeta calls the kids to the table and we have my first multi-family dinner.

**Sorry guys, I know this might be a little short, but I was having a serious writers block. This was kind of a filler chapter, but continuation of the last chapter. I just wanted to get a chapter in today, because I probably won't have time to write another until next weekend. This is also really dull and not very descriptive- or at least that's how I feel. Again, my apologies. But please, click the review bottom below and review, because I only have 8 total for the first three chapters! I also turned Anonymous Reviews on, so anybody who reads this can review. But please make it useful. And everybody, post ideas for the next chapter. I won't write the next one until I have at least 15 ideas for the next chapter. I will use one of them, but it will be a surprise. Review good ideas for me! I wanna write the next one! Thank you guys you're great fans! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**OK… I can feel the pain! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for like, 2 months, but for 2 weeks I was studying for finals, and then I didn't feel like posting (sorry…), and for the last week and a half my family has been visiting from Boston, who I haven't seen in 2 years… Anyway, I hope you appreciate this chapter. I say "appreciate" because I know you probably won't like it, but deal! I've come up with the rest of the story (kinda…). So, I think I'll start writing now. I'm not sure how I'll deal this one out, but I know what happens! Hahaha you should be envious of me… anyway, read and enjoy! (and weep…)**

The next couple of days went ok after that. Emalia and I found a way to get along: In the morning, she would go for a fun after breakfast while I stayed home and cleaned up the house (Gale and Emalia's son, Caleb, was unbelievably messy), and in the afternoon I would go for a walk with Madeline to the square while Emalia and Gale cooked dinner (I wade a compromise with them that if they were to stay, they had to cook dinner while I cooked breakfast and lunch). Then we all sat around the table and ate dinner together. I wouldn't have my nights taken away from me and my family.

Fortunately, Madeline and Jemiah didn't have a problem with our new guests. They really enjoyed spending time with Caleb, because they weren't used to small children. But they didn't really get a chance to get to know Gale and Emalia, because they spent all their time with Caleb and their new puppy Willow.

And the scene when Peeta and I told everybody that I was pregnant went better than I thought. My children were excited, as I had expected, and Gale had already known, so he just sat there, but Emalia had an angry look on her face, like this was any trouble for _her_ that I was pregnant. Like _she_ would have more stretch marks, and would have to take care of the little devil at 2 in the morning.

Anyway, we continued the routine for a good 2 and a half months, nothing exciting happening, thank goodness. In the meantime, my stomach was ever-growing. Tomorrow, Peeta would be taking me to the doctor in town for an ultrasound- which they didn't have when I was pregnant with my first 2 children- to find the gender. To be honest, I hoped it would be a girl rather than a boy, because I wanted Madeline to have the experience of a younger sister like I did with Prim.

… THE NEXT DAY…

"Bye, mom." Madeline said, giving me a hug. "Good luck!"

"Bye," Jemiah called from the living room, engrossed in the puppy, even after nearly 3 months of having her.

"C'mon, Katniss, or we'll be late for your appointment." Peeta said.

"Coming."

When we got to the square, we found the office and went inside.

"Appointment for Katniss Mellark." Peeta said to the receptionist.

"Oh, goody! Dr. Alsburgh has been waiting to see you. Lucky for you, we aren't busy today, so you can head right in! Just sign these papers first…"

Peeta and I signed some papers and walked in the small office, which was the only office in the small building.

"Welcome, Katniss!" A tall man said, turning around from the desk he was sitting at. He had dark brown hair and eyes, and was at least 6 feet tall, if not more. He could have been attractive- he probably was, about 20 years ago- but his face was covered in wrinkles, indicating that he was 60 or 70 years old.

He reached out to take Peeta's hand. "And you must be the father."

"I am, indeed." Peeta replied.

"Well, I am Dr. Alsburgh. Now, do you have any other children besides the one you're carrying?"

"Yes, one daughter and one son." I replied.

"Oh, splendid. And have you ever had an ultrasound before?"

"No, they didn't have them when I was pregnant with our other children."

"Ok, well, I'll walk you through it, then. I'll just have you come sit on this chair, Mrs. Mellark, and I'll recline it for you. Mr. Mellark, you may sit on this stool next to your wife."

We followed directions, Peeta sitting to the left of me, as Dr. Alsburgh sat on a rolling chair and pulled up along the right side of the chair I was sitting in. As he was doing so, he reclined my chair, and then he took out a special tool and a tube of what looked like lotion, but was labeled "ultrasound gel". How original.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you to pull up your shirt so that just your stomach is showing. Now, this gel is a little cold, so don't be alarmed."

He popped open the top of the tube and squirt some on my stomach. I gasped, because I _was_ a little alarmed by how cold it was.

"Sorry." Dr. Alsburgh said, noticing my reaction.

"S'ok."

He turned on the little tool, which had a chord attached to its end. The chord's other end was attached to a T.V. in a corner of the room, which Dr. Alsburgh rolled over to the right side of the bed, the same side he was sitting on. The tool also had a round, flat, silver disk on the other end, which the doctor was lowering towards my stomach.

When it touched my stomach, I gasped again, because it was so smooth and cold. Peeta squeezed my hand.

Dr. Alsburgh continued to move the tool around my stomach. "Well, from what I can see, your child is healthy, but I am still trying to search for the gender…" He trailed off, concentrating on the screen.

"Thank god," Peeta and I both said at the same time. He smiled and kissed me, then focused back on the screen.

"Well, I think you'll be happy. From what I can see right here on the screen," Dr. Alsburgh said, pointing at the screen to what looked like a baby, "you seem to be having… a girl."

"Really? That's what I wanted! Oh, thank god. A girl Peeta." I said smiling so big that my cheeks hurt, tears of joy running down my cheeks as I hugged Peeta.

"I heard, honey, I heard." Peeta replied, kissing me again.

"Have you two thought of any possible names in advance? Just curious." Dr. Alsburgh asked, looking between me and Peeta.

"No, we haven't. Maybe we could think of some on the walk back…?" I said questioningly, glancing over at Peeta.

"Sure, I'd love to." He replied.

"Well, let me wipe off your stomach quick, and you're ready to go. Congratulations," Dr. Alsburgh added.

After he wiped off my stomach and we signed a couple more papers, we were out of the small office and into the large square.

"So, a girl. How about some names?" I said, grabbing Peeta's hand.

"Hmm… Well, a name that I really like is Ebrel. How do you like that?"

"You actually like that?" I asked, not liking the name very much.

"Fine, I just won't mention any more names, if you're just going to criticize them anyway."

"Oh Peeta, whatever. I was kidding. But not about not-liking it. I hate it."

Fine. How about Kadee? Or Kaili? I could list off a lot that I really like, but you'll probably hate all of them."

"Those two aren't so bad. But I was thinking something more like… like Abelia, or Abilene- Abby for short."

"I really like those ones, actually. Very unique. I think my favorite is Abilene. That's beautiful, fit for a beautiful daughter." He smiled leaning down to give me a lingering kiss.

"Haha, that's my favorite, too. Maybe we could name her that, and have one of your names be her middle name?"

"That sounds great." He sounded like he meant it.

"Like maybe Abilene Kaili Mellark. That's pretty. What do you think?"

"I think it's beautiful. But it doesn't matter what I think, _you're_ the one who's bearing the child. I just get to sit back and watch as you carry her around. You can pick whatever you want to. I think that's fair to you."

"Thanks," I said, laughing as I playfully tugged on his arm.

We continued down the square towards our house, stopping to look into some windows of stores that sold things of interest. We went into a clothing store, where I had seen a pretty, light blue dress. But as we entered the store, I heard a rapid buzzing noise outside.

"Did you hear that, Peeta?" I asked, turning towards the window.

"Yeah, I did." He replied, opening the door and stepping outside to take a look.

I followed him after, horrified by what I saw.

At the end of the square, the farthest away from us, was a large hovercraft above the buildings. Out the bottom was a hanging ladder, and directly bellow it were 4 people. 4 men, actually, and they were all hold guns, and one was holding a woman by the arm, who was struggling profusely against his grasp. On the ground by their feet was another man, an older looking man, unmoving. I switched my focus back to the man holding the woman, and split second later he raised the gun, shooting the woman through the head. And it was the same sound we had heard inside the store.

"Peeta, what…"

"Katniss, we have to get out of here." Peeta was pushing me in the direction of the house.

Just before I was about to turn and run, I saw 2 more hovercrafts appear out of the air next to the first one, the bottom opening and dropping out a ladder with 10 men on it from each.

"Peeta, what's happening? Who is that?" I asked, panicking.

"They're not good, Katniss. We have to get out of here!"

Just then, 20 more hovercrafts appeared, all dropping just as many men. They swarmed the end of the square, advancing in our direction. They shot everyone and everything in their path, set to destroy and control.

"Peeta, let's go! We have to warn everybody!" I cried, pulling on his arm.

"You go, Katniss. I need to warn some in the town. I'll be careful, I promise. Just go, go to the forest to our special place where you were showing me how to shoot. Wait there, and I'll find you."

I kissed him again before running toward the house. I ran as fast as I could, not glancing behind me until I reached our yard. I turned back to see if maybe he was following me after all, but instead I saw him being overwhelmed by the men. One grabbed him by the shirt, yelling angrily in his face. It looked like he was interrogating Peeta. I could almost read his lips.

"Who are you? Are you…" was all that I could make out. Did they somehow know that he was Peeta, that he was married to me, that we were the start of the last war? Is that why they were here?

Then the man called out to another, and they both dragged a struggling Peeta toward the nearest hovercraft. They pushed him toward it, and he didn't grab on. The bigger man hit him across the face with the butt of his gun, and I gasped in horror. _Peeta!_ No, no, don't hurt him…

The man shoved Peeta again, whose face was now cut and bleeding, and he reluctantly grabbed hold of the ladder, which then pulled him up into the hovercraft. He disappeared, just like that. My Peeta was gone. _Gone_. He couldn't be gone, I loved him, and he was the father of my children and the one I was currently carrying. If he died, I couldn't take care of them all on my own. I couldn't have a baby and name her without him there by my side. I couldn't _live_ without Peeta.

_Peeta. Peeta._

Tears were streaming down my face, the image of him disappearing into the hovercraft replaying over and over in my head. But I couldn't dwell on that now. I had to go warn my family.

I turned and ran into the house, finding everybody sitting in the living room playing a game. _A game_. They were playing a game while all hell was breaking loose outside?

"What's wrong, Katniss?" Gale asked, rising to his feet the moment he saw my horrified expression.

And only 3 words came out of my mouth.

"They took Peeta."

**Yep, go ahead and shoot me. Sorry, but I had to do something exciting. I couldn't just tell boring stories about every day, and have no excitement, now, could I? So, I hope you hate it, because I know I do. They should be able to live happily ever after with no interference from evil people, but that'll never happen. So, I'm actually hoping to post the next chapter soon, because it took me so long to post this one, I don't want to forget to post. Anyway, read my stories whenever I post them, like add me to your "follow author/story" or "favorite author/story", and then you'll know when I post. Cuz I' sure you want to know what happens next, right? Well, guess what? I'm not gunna tell yah! Haha just keep reading. Well, I love all my fans. I gotta go now, It's 1 A.M. See how late I stay up for you guys? Nighty night!**


	6. Information for my fans

**Hey guys! So, this is not a chapter, I'm sorry, but I wanted to post this to tell you that I, mimi55337, am writing an original story on , and I would **_**really**_** appreciate it if you would ready it! It will be called "The Elementals", and I hope most of you will like it. Also, on the note of this book, I might end up posting a chapter again this week, maybe even today (no promises), and I want you to understand that I most likely will not post chapters so close together. Sorry, I know that probably makes you frustrated, but I feel like I should make up for the 2 months of not posting and post twice in a week. Oh, and another thing, I would **_**LOVE**_** if my followers would visit my profile, because I will be taking a pole for which chapters you like better in my story, so that my writing can improve. And if you are a follower of me or my stories, or if I'm one of you favorite authors, you should PM me so that I can read your stories! I love to read Hunger Games fanfics, so all my fans who are writing one can PM me, and if I like your story, I will mention it on my profile to get you more viewers! And anybody who is reading this, I highly recommend you to look at my profile for other good stories that you will probably enjoy. I will post everybody with a good story, because I love my fans! So, now I'm off to start chapter 6 of After Mockingjay. I hope you enjoy, and consider what I've said above! **

**Love, mimi55337 **


	7. Chapter 6

**So, here I am, posting chapter 6 of my story. I hope you guys are happy, because I usually don't post chapters so closely together like this. And I just posted that information chapter earlier today anyway, and I hope that you didn't just skip over that and not read it. If you did, I would REALLY appreciate that you went back to read it please! But anyway, I'm sure you want the chapter now, so read and enjoy!**

"Peeta's gone!" I screamed, running into the house to grab a duffle bag out of the closet.

"Katniss, look at me." Gale said calmly, grabbing my arm and spinning me around before I could head towards the refrigerator to shove food into the bag. "Tell me what's happened."  
I start to hyperventilate, but I know I need to tell them. "They're here- the capitol. I saw them, they had the hovercrafts and ladders and guns, and they swarmed the streets, killing people. Peeta said he would warn towns people, and I ran, but when I turned I saw them take him away…. They just took him…" I was talking so fast, my whole body shaking like I was locked in a freezer.

"Ok. What should we do, Katniss?" I was angry at Gale for being so calm.

"We need to get food and bags for clothes and essentials, and escape to the woods… Kids-" I turned toward Madeline and Jemiah, who looked scared and shocked "-I need you to each grab your backpacks, and put clothes in them. Anything you can find, as fast as possible. I'll explain in the forest. and grab my bag out of the closet, Madeline, and grab some clothes for me please." Then I turned toward Emalia, who was holding Caleb. "Grab whatever you can. Please go in the cupboard and grab the extra duffle bag and help me collect food. You can take some of my clothes," I added, because I knew she didn't have much. "Gale, you can take some of Peeta's. And there are old clothes that should fit Caleb in Jemiah's drawers. Hurry."

I ran to the fridge, scraping its contents of fruit and vegetables into the duffle bag, avoiding anything that would perish quickly. Then I moved to the cupboard, grabbing crackers and cans of corn and beans, the non-perishables, and bags of rice, adding them to the bag. I grabbed 3 small jugs of water that we always kept under the sink, and a small pan for cooking- it was a large bag.

In 3 minutes, we were all in the living room, grabbing all the bags we had prepared. Emalia was carrying a crying Caleb and 2 duffle bags, Gale 1 large bag, Madeline her backpack and a duffle bag, and Jemiah his back pack. I had the bag with all the food.

"Ok, let's go out the backdoor. We have to run to the woods, everybody follow me." I said, heading for the back door.

I pulled the door open and ran out as fast as possible towards the forest. I could hear my family's feet behind me, but I could also hear _them_, the capitol, the peacekeepers, yelling in our direction. They had seen us, and were pursuing. But the forest was so close, only 100 yards away now. So close.

Then I heard a scream. I whipped my head around, afraid it was Madeline being captured, but the woman's scream was too old to be my 13 year old daughter. Instead I saw Emalia and Caleb crashing to the ground, the duffle bags she had been carrying flying in all directions. Caleb was pinned under Emalia, unable to move her weight. Emalia was unmoving, facing downward, and there were 3 bullet wounds in her back.

I looked up to see 5 peacekeepers advancing on us with guns, jogging. Their gaze was locked on me, recognition in their eyes.

_No._ They knew who I was. They were coming for me and my family. I just didn't know what they wanted to do to us.

_Probably kill my children, and torture me…_

I focused my tortured gaze back down to our scene, and my hearing focused too. Gale was screaming Emalia's name while he pushed her onto her back, her eyes wide and staring, vacant. He picked up Caleb and held him, crying for Emalia.

"Emmy!" He screamed, rocking back and forth on his heels while brushing her hair to the side, desperate to see her face.

"Gale! We have to go! She's gone! We can't stay here!" I screamed, pulling on his arm. The peacekeepers were 100 yards away now, running. If we could just make it to the woods, to me and Peeta's spot, we would be safe…

Gale glanced up at me with tear-filled eyes, then grabbed Caleb's small duffle bag and ran with us again.

We were 10 yards from the forest line when I felt a sharp pain in my left arm, right below my shoulder. I cried out in excruciating pain, glancing down to see what had hit me as I stopped running. I was shocked to see blood running freely down my arm from a large bullet hole.

"Mom!" Madeline screamed, seeing my arm. "No, mom!"

"Katniss, what…" Then Gale saw my arm. "Holey… Katniss, c'mon! They're coming." Gale yelled, pulling on my arm toward the forest. I started running with them, Gale partially carrying my weight by my right arm, dragging me when I stumbled.

When we were in the forest, Gale turned to me.

"Which way, Katniss?" He asked, not having been in these forests in 20 years.

"Deeper," I gasped, the blood loss pulling the air out of my lungs. "Go farther."

Gale pulled me along until we reached a special tree, and I told him to go right. As soon as we reached the dead stump of a tree and the small cave in the side of the hill, I told him to stop.

"Here, in this cave," I gasped, stumbling inside the cave and sitting on the rock in the corner.

The cave was about had an opening about 4 feet wide, but inside it was 6 feet wide and 10 feet deep. It was pretty small, but it would have to do.

Gale and everybody came following in, dropping their bags just inside the opening and hurrying to my side.

"Katniss, what happened?" Gale asked, opening one of his bags and pulling a towel out. He ripped it in half the long way and tied it around the wound on my injured arm.

"I don't know." I answered, breathing heavily and gasping. "They shot me…."

"Mom, why? Who were those people?" Jemiah asked, his eyes wide and filled with tears at my sudden injury.

"They were waiting… waiting…" I was so tired. Couldn't I just rest? My eyes started to close with the blood loss.

"Go ahead and rest, Katniss. I'll watch them, I promise." Gale said, gesturing toward my children.

I didn't even reply. I was asleep in seconds.

… … …

When I woke up, I kept my eyes closed for a little while. I didn't remember me and Peeta's bed being so hard. I rolled over, wincing at a pain in my arm.

_What happened last night?_

I reached over, search for Peeta's warm body to comfort me. But when I didn't find it, I started to panic. I opened my eyes, and saw the rock wall of a cave. Then the memories flooded back to me, and I screamed out loud in pain and loss. _Peeta!_ Peeta was gone, taken…

And Emalia was dead. It was only Gale and I and 3 children, And I was pregnant. _What are we going to do?_

I was still screaming when Gale came running over, pulling me into a tight hug, murmuring to me until I quieted down.

"Katniss, you can't scream like that. The Peacekeepers can't find us." He said, brushing the hair back from my face.

"I know, I'm sorry. But they're _gone_, both of them." I said, crying silently into his shoulder.

"I know." He said, crying with me, mostly for his Emalia.

Madeline and Jemiah crawled over to cuddle too, and I turned away from Gale to pull my children to me. We laid there for a long time, just cuddling and crying for Peeta and everybody who was lost in our town. It was destroyed for me again, but for them it was the first time. They had never witnessed such violence.

"Mom, what happened? Who were those men?" Jemiah asked. He was unaware of me and Peeta's past, because we felt that he wasn't old enough to understand it. But now I knew that I would have to explain it to him, or else he would never truly know who those men were, or why they were there. So I told him everything that I had told Madeline, leaving out the small details so that it would take less time than before. Madeline added in a few things she remembered that I had forgotten, and by the end of it Jemiah finally understood. He seemed to accept it like Madeline had, but he wasn't as devastated as she was.

"So now you understand it, don't you Jemiah?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but why did President Snow do that? Why would he hurt Daddy?" He asked. That's the only thing he seemed upset about, that dad had been hurt at some point. Unbelievable.

"I don't know, Jemiah. I really don't know." I started to sit up, but a sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, and I fell backward again. Did I really lose that much blood? Or did I have an infection? _Or both_.

"Hey, don't try to move." Gale said, hold my shoulders down so I couldn't try to get back up. "You lost a lot of blood."

_Great._ "What am I supposed to do, then? Sit around? Eventually they'll find us, Gale. I need to protect us." _My bow!_ "Gale, I need my bow! It's in the hollowed-out log outside the cave opening. Could you get it please?"

"Katniss, you're in no shape to shoot that thing. You can't even move without falling over." He said, glancing at my arm.

"It would make me feel better. Please, Gale?"

"Fine." He muttered as he stood up and exited the cave. A few minutes later he came in again carrying y bow and arrows.

"Hey, can you set some traps for animals? I don't want us to eat all the food, and I didn't grab any meat out of the fridge when we left. I'm sure they're hungry…" I trailed off because I wasn't hungry. I knew I should probably have eaten something, but my stomach wasn't up to it.

"Sure."

"Just be careful. _They_ could be out there looking."

He nodded, then grabbed a kitchen knife out of the kitchen bag- it was the best we had, but a hunting knife would have been better- and set out to set snares.

I was getting tired again, surprisingly, probably because I had lost so much blood today. My eyes were getting heavy, and they eventually slid shut, even with me trying to keep them open.

"It's ok, mom. We'll be fine. You just rest," Madeline whispered just before I fell asleep.

**HAHA! So, how'd you like it? Not at all? Well, at least it's better than Mockingjay. Well, that's my opinion, anyway. So here I go, back to the real world to my crazy little cousins who are visiting from Boston (fun…). I haven't seen them in 2 years, so there's a plus. So, visit my profile, PM me, and review and favorite! Thanks! P.S. I might not post for a while after today, so be happy with what you got! I post 2 chapters in 2 days! Live with it! :D**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! I know, it's taken me a while to update, but I was at my Mom's friend's cabin for 4 days this week, and Sunday night I spent at the house of a girl on my softball team's Mom's house out in the middle of nowhere with my softball team. You wanna know why? Because we had our softball USSA State Championships this weekend (started last Saturday, not today). And guess what? My team got first in the State Championships! Yay for my team! We won the Championship (final) game 17 to 6, so we pretty much crushed them. PM me or comment if you think that's awesome! Yay! Ok, so, I'll stop talking and get to writing. I'm not sure how long this chapter will be, but probably not very long. I'm not much in the mood for writing, since it's 10:30 P.M., but I knew I had to post to make you guys happy. I also don't really know how to continue with this story. I know what happens, but I don't know **_**how**_** to make it happen. Anyway, read and review please! **

I did not sleep soundly. I had dreams of guns and blood and screams and pain… I was constantly in pain. I couldn't place it exactly, but it seemed to be radiating out from where my heart was. And the screams... they were unbearable, slicing into my ears like razor blades…

_The square, filled with screaming and running people, fire everywhere, destroying all that was loved. People lay on the ground, the poor as well as the rich, the old along with the young, mothers who lay next to their child. The husband running down the street, trying to wreak revenge for the loss, but is quickly shot down. Defenseless grandparents, being overwhelmed…_

_Peeta stand in the middle of the square, looking at me, his hand stretched out to me. Then a flash, and I am standing in front of his smiling face while he rubs my stomach, telling me it will be alright. Then he is pulled back into the chaos and up to the hovercraft, leaving me standing alone in death. Then all vanishes, and I'm standing in the rubble of the town, everyone murdered, and my family, my children, lying at my feet in a pool of blood, with a newborn baby girl beside them with the name _Abilene Kaili Mellark_ sewn into her clothing. There is a ringing sound in my ears as I scream until my lungs burst. I scream and scream and scream…_

"Katniss! Katniss, wake up!" It's Gale, shaking me by the shoulders desperate to wake me and quiet my screams so our hideout will not be discovered. When he sees my eyes are open and hears that I am breathing hard instead of screeching, he pulls me to him in a tight hug.

"Wha-what… Where are-?" I broke off, pushing him away as I glanced around for my children. I exhaled with relief when I saw they were huddled in the back corner, looking at me with worried eyes. Caleb is in Maddy's arms, who looked like he had just been crying. Thank god they were ok.

"It was just a dream, Catnip. Just a dream…" Gale kept repeating until my heartbeat and breathing slowed.

"It was horrible. Everybody, dead, my babies…" I rubbed my stomach, curling in over it as if to protect it from danger.

"I know, Katniss, I know. But it was just a dream." Gale stroked my now-waist-long hair, soothing me.

When I finally stopped shaking, Gale let me go and I sat back. I gestured for the kids to come over, and they sat next to me, Madeline curled against my right side, Jemiah against my left. Gale held Caleb

After a moment he spoke. "I think they're gone, Katniss. I haven't heard any gunfire or… or screaming in a while." He glanced down at his watch. "Nothing for the past hour and a half. We've been here for a good 6 hours."

"Ok," I responded, not knowing what to do in this situation. I had been through a whole hell of a lot, but it was hard for me to function when I thought about my children, _my baby_, being in danger.

"We could leave, when night falls. I heard of a place that was down by 4, a small village of refugees. They might have healing supplies…" He trailed off, looking into my tired eyes. He knew I might get and infection if we waited too long, but also that district 4 was at least 50 miles away, and we needed to move fast if we were going to go anywhere. Which might be a problem, because I could barely sit up without my head spinning.

After a long pause, Jemiah spoke in a quiet voice. "Mom, we left Willow behind." He sounded like he might cry, but his eyes were dry of tears.

A flash of the small puppy went through my head. Our new puppy, who was now slightly bigger than when we had gotten her, was left at the house in the chaos. I hadn't even seen her as we were scrambling around for our things.

I thought for a moment, then started to release my children and stand. "I'll go looking," I said, knowing how much my children, and I, loved that dog. I took a step, but didn't get very far as I used the rock wall next to me for support as the cave started spinning around me.

"No, Katniss, you can't go." Gale said now, slowly lowering me to the ground again.

"But I have to get her. We need her." I complained, starting to stand again.

He pushed me back down. "I'll go, then. I'll go to the house and see if she is still there, and while I'm at it I'll scout out what's going on. It will be productive, not just for the dog," he added as I started to protest.

I hesitated a moment. What if he didn't come back? But he was deciding this, and we could know if _they_, the peacekeepers I assumed, were gone. "Fine," I finally agreed, leaning back on the wall and placing my hands on my stomach, rubbing gently. I was starting to automatically do that to calm myself, as I had done with Madeline and Jemiah.

Gale stood up, placing Caleb on the floor by Madeline and me, and walked toward the opening of the cave. When he was there, he turned. "Oh, Madeline, have your mother eat those meat and roots we saved for her." Then he was gone.

I ate the food Maddy brought me numbly, thinking about the terror that was boiling in my veins. Just thinking about Peeta's face or my dream made my heart break into pieces.

Gale returned in around a half hour. When he walked in, he was a shadow with something dangling in one arm and an extra bag of something in the other. I was utterly confused.

Gale put the dangling thing on the ground, and once it touched the ground it bounded towards the children, running full speed.

"Willow!" Madeline and Jemiah cried, petting her and snuggling her in their arms.

"Wi-yo," Caleb said, pushing into the small space by the dog. He smiled and crouched to pet her. Once he touched her he squealed in joy and jumped up, then turn and ran to Gale, who swung him up into the air and hugged him.

"Thank you, Gale. I can't tell you how much this means to me, especially for my children." I said, squeezing his hand for a moment, then letting go.

"No problem, Catnip. I like dogs," he said, smiling at his son, who was still in his arms.

"Hey, what's in that extra bag?" I asked, looking across the cave to see if I could identify what was inside it.

"Two big bags of dog food, a bowl, and a leash. The house was still up, but the doors were busted down and the inside was all torn apart. I found Willow under Jemiah's bed, not crying or anything. Poor dog, scared to death." He looked sympathetically in her direction. "Anyway, all the Peacekeepers were gone, but the whole square was burned down. There were lots of… wounded…" He gave me the look saying it was _much_ more than that.

I gave him a knowing look back, but didn't respond.

Caleb filled the silence. "Weas Mommy, Dada?" He asked, looking at Gales face and smiling, as if they were playing hide and seek and his mother was the one hiding.

Gale swallowed and looked at me desperately, but he knew he had to give an answer. "Caleb, Mommy is gone. She went bye-bye for a while. She went on a trip far away. It's like the trip Grandma went on, remember?" Gale's eyes glinted with tears, but he stayed composed.

"Gama no come back, Dada. I wan Mommy to come back." He replied, his little face serious as he looked into Gale's eyes. His smile was gone now.

"I know you do, Caleb, but she can't come back. This is a special trip for just Mommy, not for us. We won't see her for a long time now." Gale was almost crying now, his tears pooling.

Caleb's eyes started watering, and he cuddled into Gale. Moments later I heard Caleb screeching at his father, throwing a tantrum about wanting his Mommy back, that she didn't need to go on Mommy trips and that he wanted to go with her. Gale just rocked him and cried with him, tears streaming openly down his face now, murmuring that they can't, that she's gone.

My children were quiet now, crying along with them. I was crying too, for little Caleb and for Peeta, and for Emalia, even if I didn't like her very much.

Caleb cried for a while, but then he started quieting down to soft whines. He eventually fell asleep in Gale's arms, which were still rocking him and crying silently.

Eventually nightfall came, and I stood up, trying to get steady on my feet. My head wasn't spinning as badly after I had some food, but I still felt queasy from it. Everybody gathered the stuff into the bags. Me carrying the backpacks on my back so I could use a walking stick, Gale carrying Caleb and two duffel bags, Madeline carrying the puppy and a large duffle bag, and Jemiah carrying two small bags and the bag with the dog supplies. We started off in the direction of district 4, where the refugee camp was said to be.

I just hoped beyond all hope that it was there.

**Okay, I'm sorry this is really short for what I normally write. It's like 3 pages, if you don't count the A/N at the beginning and end. Anyway, I just noticed that in my "information for my fans" thing, I was talking about my original story, and it cut out the website! Jerks! So here I will tell you again that it is called "The Elementals", and it's on the sister of this website, Fiction Press. I'm trying to promote my story, so I hope it doesn't cut that out again. It's Fiction Press. Com. . Sometimes I hate this website. Well, if you like my story on here, you will probably like my original work, even though it's a totally different story and everything. And BTW, I totz almost started crying writing that last part of this chapter! I didn't like writing it, but I knew I had to to! :'( On that happy note, it's 1:00 A.M. again, and I am here writing this for you guys, so you better review and favorite! I know my story isn't **_**that**_** bad! Please give me some tips or tell me what you think! Thanks! Nighty-night, don't let the vampires bite! :D**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. I guess it hasn't been that long since the last time I updated this story, but to all of you fans it probably has because when you're a fan, you want the author to update as soon as possible. I'm taking kind of long though because I'm not really interested in writing this story anymore. I' just not, it's getting old. I AM disappointed in you guys, though, because, as of right now, I only have 16 reviews for all 7 chapters of this story, where as for my other story, **_**My Version of City of Lost Souls**_**, I have 7, and only one chapter is up, which has been up for only a couple of days. Shame on you guys! If you reviewed more or favorite more, then I might be interested in writing more of this story. To be completely honest, I might write a couple more chapters and make it short, or just give you a spoiler in the next chapter. If you don't want that to happen, you guys need to show me! Review and favorite, please! I NEED REVIEWS! Please!**

**P.S. This is kind of a filler chapter, so I guarantee it won't be very long.**

We walked for miles upon miles, our trip taking days. We had to stop multiple times and look for slightly secluded areas in the woods. We got lucky one time when we found a small empty cave. There was dry wood outside, so I made a fire as Gale set up more snares for food.

It was easier for me with my kids questioning me about Peeta than it had been for Gale and Caleb. I think Madeline understood most of what was going on, but Jemiah wasn't sure of anything.

Jemiah was the first to speak. "Mom… where's dad?" He asked, glancing at my face.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "But I'm going to find him for us."

"Who took him? Why would they want to take him? Why didn't they take any of us with him?" Jemiah shot the questions at me, which I wasn't quite prepared for.

"Jemiah…" I started, not really forming the answers to his questions; I had a bad headache still, but I also didn't know most of the answers. There was no way to know. I couldn't know who took him. My first guess would be President Snow, which obviously wasn't possible because he was dead. I kind of new why they would take him. It was probably because of me. I saw the recognition on the Peace Keepers' faces when they saw me and Peeta. But why wouldn't they come straight to our house and take the rest of us? It just didn't make any sense.

My head and arm throbbed.

"Jemiah, Mom doesn't know the answers to any of those questions. She's just as confused as we are." Maddy spoke up, defending me. Her words weren't necessarily true, but mostly were.

"She's right, Jemiah. I don't know. We're just going to have to wait…" I trailed of, my eyes drooping slightly. It was the evening, around dinned time. We had been hiking for a day since our last stop, and we were all tired. Caleb was curled up with a small blanket a few feet away.

Jemiah hesitated, then sighed. "Ok, mom." But there were tears in his eyes. I could tell he was pained. He missed his father as much as I did. I could see it on Madeline's face, though she tried to hide it and be tough for her family.

As I sat there looking at my family, I realized there was nothing I could do to help their pain and loss. There was no way for me to prove that Peeta was ok, or that he was even alive. I could just help my family push through it until we found him or who he was.

… … …

The next morning we ate leftover rabbit and squirrel, then headed out. We traveled for another day, in the direction of district 4. That night, when we hadn't found anything, we started to give up. We had been traveling for three days, many miles put between us and district 12, but there hadn't been a single sign of a village anywhere.

We were walking, trying to find a place to stay for the night, when I heard a twig snap. Not an ordinary twig, but that of a snare mad for large animals. I wasn't very good at that snare, and Gale wasn't very much better, but I had done it right enough times to know what it sounded like what it worked.

Not even a second later, my legs were pulled out from under me. I felt the burn of a rope as it rubbed against my legs, and then I found myself hanging upside down from a large tree, my feet and legs entangled in a snare.

Gale and my children were making alarmed noises, not quite sure what to do. Then I heard a low, amused chuckle.

"Well, well, well," a male voice answered. "_What_ do we have here?"

**Ok, it's 1 in the morning. I'm annoyed of saying that, so from now on assume it's 1 A.M. every time I post a chapter. So, take it or leave it. I told you it would be short, kind of a filler chapter, but it sets the scene for the next chapter. P.S. IDK when that chapter is going to be posted, it depends on how much you guys want me to post something. If you just want me to tell you the end of the story in the next chapter, say so in your reviews. But if you want me to continue writing, say **_**that**_** in your reviews. So, I'm exhausted, and I have to go to the bathroom. Night, hope the bugs bite.**


	10. Chapter 9

**OMG guys, you can't believe how sorry I am. I've been doing summer homework, so I haven't had any time to update! And also, MY BIRTHDAY WAS MONDAY, AUGUST 27! YAYA! I'M NOW 15! *CHEERING* I had a big party and everything. I had like, 25 people over.**

**Now, the bad news. Since school is starting for me on Tuesday, and I'll be in high school, I probably won't have time to update as often. you guys saw how long it took me to update with my summer homework, so I don't know how I'm going to find time to update with homework every day. **

**Also, I REALLY want to apologize for what I said last chapter. You guys totally don't have to review or anything, I was just crabby. Of course, I would prefer if you did comment, but it's your choice! I'm just happy that people read my story. **

**Ok, enough with the heavy. I'll start writing this story again before I run out of time! Enjoy! :D**

We were quickly surrounded. Large men held my children by the arms, and a man was pointing a bow and arrow at Gale while a woman was pointing one at me while I was hanging upside down. They were all fairly clean, like they had access to a source of water, but their clothes were worn out, with little holes.

"What do you want from us?" I cried, look at my children desperately. Jemiah was crying, struggling ineffectively at the large man's hold. I glanced over at Gale, who was holding Caleb close to him. "Please, what do you want?"

The man chuckled again, and I looked in his direction. He was standing near Gale, and I noticed that he was nearly a foot taller that Gale, and definitely more muscular. He had light blonde, nearly white hair and grey eyes, paired with a crooked nose. He was very fair-skinned with freckles across his nose. "What do we want, you ask? What do _we_ want? You're the ones invading our land. What do _you_ want?"

Before I or gale could respond, the woman who was pointing the weapon at me spoke to him. She had straight black hair to her shoulders and dark brown eyes. She looked about my height.

"Nick," she said to the man," she's pregnant."

The man, Nick, did a double take at me and my stomach. After a moment of silence, Gale spoke up.

"She's injured, too. Her arm. It could be infected, and we have nothing to treat it. Please, we have the kids…" Gale trailed off as Nick gave him a death glare.

"Well," he said after a moment. "I guess you could mean no harm. You're lucky I respect pregnant women." Quickly he walked over and pulled a knife from his belt. I was about to cry out when he cut the rope from around my feet, and I fell hard to the ground on my back, knocking the wind out of me.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and grabbed my bow off my back, loading an arrow. I aimed it at Nick, who seemed to be the leader of the group of people. I glanced around the area and saw that there were about 10 people all together. Most were men, nearly as big as Nick. All of them were armed. Half of them had bows while the other had knives and swords. One had a gun, which was aim straight at me.

"Drop your weapons!" I yelled, pulling my bow taught. "Drop them, or I'll shoot him through the head!"

Nick stared at me but raised his hand to the others. "Put them down, guys. Listen to what she says."

They hesitated, but soon enough all of their weapons dropped to the ground.

"Now, let my kids and friend go." I said. They obeyed, and quickly my family was by my side.

Nick said, "What do you need? We aren't going to hurt you. Explain to us why you're here." He had his hands up in surrender, obviously not dangerous. For the moment, anyway.

I didn't want to tell them, but I knew there was no escaping these people. If we turned and ran, they could pick up their weapons and just as easily kill us as I could kill one of them. And, besides, we came all this way to find the village in district 4, and these people very well could have been what we were searching for.

I started from the beginning. Well, from when Peeta was taken. It didn't take very long, but it took longer than it should have. It was a hard story to tell, especially the part when Emalia died…

"So." Said Nick, after a long pause. "You guys are escaping the Capital, too." It wasn't a question.

"Wait, so it _is_ the Capital? I thought we defeated them years ago…" I trailed off, looking at Gale. He had been through all of it with me, fighting right beside me the whole time, and now he would be again…

"Yeah, I'm pretty positive, considering they came to take my daughter and wife as a warning a month ago. They told us that if we try to stand up to them, they will put us through worse things than death." Nick ran a hand over his face, which was now pale.

So we weren't the only ones who had gone through a lot. In a sad way, it was nice to know that we weren't the only ones suffering. At least Nick knew how we felt.

"And my sister Lierah-" Nick continued, motioning towards the young girl with short black hair "-lost her 2 month old son. I guess they like to pick on my family." Nick said in a steely tone. He had gone from pale to red, and his fists were clenched tight in anger.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" I said. I let my bow drop, and put my arrow back. These people were obviously of no harm to us. They were just trying to protect themselves.

"It's fine, there was no way you could know. After all, we've only known each other for ten minutes." He smiled, then blinked. "Actually we haven't known each other." He walked up to me with his hand extended. His friends tensed and reached for their weapons, but he ignored them and continued. "I'm Nicholas Koham, leader of the village in District 4. And this is my sister, Lierah, my side kick. We're twins." I shook his hand.

Lierah walked up to me, hand extended, but she was glaring at her brother. "I told you not to call me that." She snapped, then smiled at me. "Nice to meet you…" She trailed off waiting.

"Katniss," I said, shaking her hand. "Katniss Mellark. And these are my children Madeline and Jemiah."

"Nice to meet you two." She held her hands out to both of them, and they shook it. I see we have something in common," Lierah said, turning to me again and gesturing towards my bow.

I laughed. "I guess we do. I haven't met very many people who can shoot as well as I can. I can't wait to see how good you are."

"Now, who's this?" Nick said, walking to stand in front of Gale, who was still holding Caleb.

"I'm Gale, Katniss's friend." He shifted Caleb's weight to one arm and shook Nick and Lierah's hands. "And this is my son, Calebiran. But you can call him Caleb."

"Well, enough of the small talk. I'm sure you guys are exhausted. Let's head back." Nick said, walking back in the direction they seemed to come from.

On our walk back to the village, we were introduced to everybody else. There were 8 men and 3 woman total, counting Nick and Lierah, but I couldn't remember their names. One boy in particular stood out whose name was Keon. He was young, around the age of 13 or 14, with dark skin and muscles. He had straight white teeth and cleanly shaven black hair, and was very cute. A sort of warning flashed in my mind that he was the same age as Madeline.

When we broke through the thick trees, there was a vast open clearing that went on for a mile or two. And what I saw shocked me beyond belief.

**Yay! I've got another chapter! I was going to post this yesterday, but I still have a lot of homework that I have to get done by tomorrow! Eek! I kind of cut this short because I have to go do more homework, sorry if it's another cliffhanger. But this one's not as bad as last chapter's, right? But sometimes it's fun to write cliffhangers, just because they make you guys angry… haha. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize again for the stuff I said last chapter. I'm just irritated because you guys don't really comment, but I also know that a lot of you aren't members on fanfiction, so you don't want to comment, and you can't favorite. But please, if you get a chance, DO comment and favorite and Fan. And visit my profile! If you have time to come on here and read stories, I'm sure you can spare an extra minute!**

**I just wanted to add that I AM WRITING AND ORIGINAL STORY! It's not on FictionPress any more, I switched it to WattPad! So, please visit me. I think you will really like it. It's not very popular yet, but it's getting there! It'll be a lot more popular when you guys visit, because I know/hope some of you will. It's called "The Elementals" by mimi55337.**

**Ok, I'm going to stop talking now. This is super long. I may post another chapter for My Version of City of Lost Souls tonight, but no promises! Night, don't let the bed bugs bite! And watch the Hunger Games for me! I got it for my birthday Monday! :D**


	11. Chapter 10

**Yo my fans! I'm sooooo super sorry for taking so long. I know I saw that all the time, but I actually mean it this time. I'm in the school musical (practices EVERY NIGHT) and I have so much homework it's not even funny. But I'm liking high school! How's your guy's school going? Leave a comment bellow telling me how everything is going! I wanna know! :D**

**Honestly, this chapter is going to be short, but it give important information! It's not necessarily a filler chapter, because it gives you stuff that you need to know for… the future. ;D**

**Oh P.S. Immy gave me an AMAZING idea in a review she posted for me, so I have to write it! It's like, amazing! Though my idea isn't exactly the same as hers, it's totally amazing. And don't go into the reviews and read her idea, because that will just ruin my whole next part of the story for you. Your loss, if you do! :D**

When we broke through the thick trees, there was a vast open clearing that went on for a mile or two. And what I saw shocked me beyond belief.

There was a large village in the center of the clearing, which started at the bottom of the steep hill we were on, that could have at least 200-300 people, with room left. The village was mostly made up of houses; the base and walls were made out of sturdy wood, and the roof was made out of tightly woven hay and long grass, so tight it was most likely water proof.

The rest of the clearing was clear of everything except the occasional tree and roll of hay. There were fenced off sections: one had cows roaming, one had horses, another had sheep and goats. There were so many animals, I wondered where they had got them all. The animal they had the most of were the horses.

I was nearly speechless. "Wow."

"It's not spectacular, but we've been living here and adding on to it for about 8 years now. Isn't that right, Lierah?" Nick said, turning to his sister.

"Yeah, Nick and I have been here since we were 17. We're 25 now. But our parents died when we were 16, so we've stuck together." Lierah nodded, then patted my shoulder. "Come on, I'll show you guys around. You can share my hut with me."

… … …

It turned out the village was a lot smaller than I thought, it was just the house-huts were big. They were more like houses than huts, but I guess what they were made out of made them huts.

Lierah brought us into the small town-like area in the middle, were there were small shops that held the milk, food, and clothes. They didn't have to pay for anything, but everybody had to be generous and only take what they needed.

There were people everywhere. Just as many people as I thought could fit in here, if not more. They were walking around everywhere, some with the occasional dog, and some tending to their gardens. They were clean, not muddy or scratched up like you would expect.

There was also a town hall building, though only slightly bigger than the houses. Behind it was a large garden that went on for several hundred yards. It grew strawberries and raspberries, lettuce and tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots, broccoli and cauliflower; nearly all the vegetables you could imagine. This was obviously a healthy little place.

Finally we stopped in front of a house. It had a small red sign above the door that read: _Lierah Koham, daughter of Jonathan Koham the third_.

"Hey, are you somebody important?" I asked, turning to her as she pushed the door open. "I mean, is there a reason you and your brother are the leaders here? Who was your dad?"

She walked inside, and I followed her. It was a cozy little place, with homemade wooden chairs and tables. There was a fire going in the fireplace, since it was a little chilly out. I just wondered why she would keep the fire going when nobody was home, considering that the house was made out of dry grass and wood. I saw another door leading into another room. This house was one of the biggest in the village.

It took me a minute to realize that Lierah hadn't responded yet. I glanced over at her and saw conflicting emotions on her face.

"Are you ok?" I asked her worriedly. I didn't want to upset her. "You don't have to answer, if it's a sensitive subject. I understand. My father is dead too. I'm not sure what's happened to my mother." I walked up and stood next to her awkwardly.

"No, it's ok," she reassured me. She hesitated. "Yes, he was important." She shuffled over to a chair and sat down in it. "He was President Snow's nephew." She sighed and ran a hand over her face, slouching back into the chair. I sat in the one across from her, and Gale and the kids stood in the corner.

"I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. President Snow didn't have any children, so the next person in the generation to be the president would have been my uncle. He was the oldest of his siblings, my father the second born. If you didn't know already, the president's spot is handed down through generations of the same blood. Every 150 years or so, they would switch to a new family. My uncle supposedly died somehow many years ago, and my father would have taken his place as president. So by default, if the world hadn't ended a second time, my brother would have been the president."

It was silent, our breath and the fire flickering the only audible sounds. How was that possible? Nobody ever knew that President Snow had a brother. He must have downplayed them, put them in a low-rank District where they wouldn't be discovered…

District 13. That's the first thought that popped into my head. The refugee camp of District 13 must have been where he placed them **(AUTHOR'S NOTE: "them" is the brother and nephew, if that's confusing)**.

Gale spoke up. "So you're almost royalty then. You're one of the closest things to it. No wonder you and your brother are the bosses around here. You're the closest things to true leaders they have." Gale ran a hand through his hair, obviously nervous about something, but I turned my attention back to Lierah.

"Why aren't you working with the capitol, then?" I asked her, slightly angry. Was she playing us? Was this village really part of the Capitol?

"We don't support the capitol, obviously," she nearly spat, sensing my change in mood. "They took our family away from us. They know who we are, they know everything, but still they won't accept us. Not that we want to be accepted by those scum."

"But I just don't understand! How can you just sit here and do nothing? You have power! And even if _you_ don't, your brother does. You can make armies! You have so many people here, you could gather more…" I trailed off, thinking about getting Peeta back after we defeated the Capitol again…

"We don't have any power! We're useless, we don't have any authority except for here, because our father started this village before he died!" She yelled, trying to get the point straight in my mind.

"Why not?" Gale asked from across the room. He was still too uncomfortable to come over.

Lierah looked me dead in the eyes. "Because my uncle is still alive."

**Dun, DUN, DUUUUNNNN! How's that for suspense? Haha not that bad, I know. Next chapter is probs gunna be a filler, but I have an idea for it. But if any part of this chapter is confusing, post a review or send me a PM or something, and I can explain that to everybody, because I'm sure other people have the same question(s) as you do!**

**Remember, fan and comment please. It would be totally cool if I could get this story to the top of the most popular list, but I need my fans! Please, I hope this is good enough. Just take an extra second to type up "Good Job" or "This sucks", as long as I get some reviews! Express how you feel! And ask questions! I feel like this might be a confusing chapter… **


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey readers! It's been forever since I've posted, I know, but I promise you I will NEVER give up on any of the stories I write, unless it's a total train wreck and I can't revive it. Anyway, read on please! And enjoy!**

Lierah looked me dead in the eyes. "Because my uncle is still alive."

At that moment, the ground vibrated and there was a loud rumbling sound. I ran over to my kids in the corner, and Gale came over to us too. I tried to look out a window, but the only thing I could see was the vast garden.

Lierah, however, was walking casually over to the door. She opened it and gestured us to follow her outside.

"Are you crazy?" I yelled. "What's even happening? I'm not going to put my children in danger."

"Don't worry. You'll be safe. I know exactly what's happening. Come with me now. I don't want you to be hurt." Lierah said back, then she glanced at the other door in the room. Five grown men walked out then and shut the door behind them.

I backed up to the wall, Maddy and Jemiah behind me. "What are you doing, Lierah? Tell me what's happening and I might cooperate."

"See," she responded and looked at the men, who started walking towards us. "I know I can't do that. Either way, you won't cooperate, so I'm just going to have to force you."

I reached behind my back to grab my bow and aimed it at Lierah. "Stop right there! I'll shoot her, I swear I will." I told the men setting an arrow in the bow and pulling it taught. They backed up slightly.

Lierah just laughed. "And what would you do afterwards? I could have these men kill you in an instant." She started walking towards me slowly. "You wouldn't want that now, would you? With your friend, your children, your husband… and your baby."

I flinched at that. I almost brought my hand to my stomach, but I wouldn't let my guard down.

"Ah, I see that got to you. Of course, if you die, your baby would die too. But you can prevent that. All you have to do is put down that bow and come outside with me." She had reached me now, but was completely nonchalant, arms dangling at her sides and her shoulders back. "Just put that bow down," she whispered, "and come with me."

_Not a chance_, I thought, and pulled the bow tighter, ready to shoot.

A second later, in the blink of an eye, I was on the ground convulsing from the shock someone gave me. I looked up to see Nick standing in the doorway, a gun-type devise in his hand.

"Mom! Are you okay?" Jemiah and Maddy were above me now, looking down on me with worried eyes. Maddy was shaking my shoulder.

"Sorry, I usually respect pregnant women, unless they're threatening my sister," Nick said, looking down at me.

"What did you do to her?" Gale asked him desperately, looking between me on the ground and the big men approaching us now. "She's pregnant, for crying out loud! What did you do to her?"

"Oh, I just shocked her a little bit. She'll be fine in a couple of minutes." He turned his back to us and walked back out the door. Lierah cam to pick up the bow that I dropped.

The men had finally reached us. I saw two of them grab Gale's arms, while he was still holding on to Caleb, one each grabbed my children, and one came to scoop me up off the ground.

"Please," I whispered, but I was sure they could hear me, "don't hurt my children."

Nobody struggled against their hold. After seeing what was done to me, I'm sure they didn't want to take another chance.

They walked us through the village towards the large town square opening in the middle. Plenty of sound was coming from the square, so I was sure that the entire village was over there, considering it was a ghost town everywhere else.

When we walked into the open space, I wanted to jump out of this man's arms, but my body was still partially paralyzed. It was so shocking and terrifying, I could have sworn I was dreaming it.

All the citizens were standing at the edge of the large circle, and they looked just as scared as I felt, but none of them were shocked. They looked like they were expecting this to happen. The only people who didn't look scared at all were Nick and Lierah (still holding my bow), who were standing closest to us.

And in the middle, very hard to miss, was a small hovercraft.

**Yay! Fun chapter. I was thinking about letting them get situated in this little village first, but I was like "No, that's too boring to write and to read" so I started the next exciting part! If you have any ideas that you want to happen later in the story, please post them. My goal is to get at least 100 reviews for this story, please! And if I reach that number, I want to shoot for 150! Help make my dreams come true!**

**Also, about my chapters, there is no longer any length that I'm aiming for. So every chapter is going to be a different length and stuff, so don't be excited for a long chapter every time I post. I'm just going to write and however long it is, that's what I'll post. Thanks for reading! I'll try to post soon, but no promises! Remember, I'll never give up on this story! ;D**


	13. Chapter 12

**I've been busy. Never have and never will give up on this. I got a new laptop for Christmas though. And right now I am eating Jolly Ranchers. Read on and comment. Please!**

**P.S. I realize that in the beginning of the story (and probably through the rest of the story) I have gotten years and stuff mixed up in the story and it might be really confusing. If you haven't noticed this, then just keep enjoying the story, but if you have, I deeply apologize. You just gotta bear with me here. To be honest, the years don't really matter. I just suck at figuring that stuff out, and it really hurts my head. But anyway, here is the next chapter! :)**

The hovercraft was small, yet easily twice the size of the small 20 by 20 huts in this village. It was white and silver, with an antenna on top and black plating for the front two windows. It weirdly resembled a bug – What was it called? A fly? – in pictures I had seen before. It was round and oddly shaped, like someone stepped on it and flattened it to look like a spaceship. It had no supports; it was just hovering above the ground calmly unmoving.

"Where'd that come from?" I asked, panicking. Wherever there was a hovercraft, there was bound to be the Capital. And wherever there was the Capital, all hell broke loose.

"That," Nick whispered, "is our family." He reached over and grabbed Lierah's hand, smiling slightly. His face had a slight glowing undertone, which really made me wonder what he was talking about.

Now that my head had stopped spinning and I knew I had full control of my body parts, I struggled against the hold of the man who still had me in his arms. He was shocked that I had moved and almost dropped me, but I grabbed onto his neck before I could slip too far down. He pulled me to my feet quickly and put his strong hands on the top of my arms to restrain me again.

My head snapped up when there was a small beeping noise. The side of the hovercraft opened from the top and hit the ground with a soft thud. At least 15 men walked out of it, maybe 4 or 5 women among them.

It was quiet then; deadly quiet, so much so that you could hear a pin drop.

"Are these them?" A man with a white and gray-haired balding head stepped forward out of the crowd. He was short and stout but very fit, as well as old.

"Yes," Nick called back. "These are the ones you seek. They came wandering through the woods."

The old man put his hands on his waist and gave our small group death eyes.

"Well, bring them forward!" He yelled, frustrated.

Nick walked forward, and the men holding us followed. Lierah walked over to the gray haired man and handed him my bow.

_No, that's my father's!_

Once we reached the man, he walked up to me.

"Is this yours, _Katniss_?" He took the ends between both hands and, quick as anything, snapped it in half.

_No!_

Now I struggled against this man's hold. He wasn't expecting me to struggle so fiercely, but before I could get loose and wrap my hands around that gray-haired man's skinny little neck, he grabbed me around the chest much tighter than before, so there was no way of me escaping again.

"How do you know my name?" I said, trying to restrain my anger. "Who are you?"

The man stroked his hand down my cheek. I flinched back, and he repeated the gesture. "Why, my dear, you can just call me John, but I prefer President Snow."

I gasped in pain when he grabbed at my jaw tightly. He leaned close and whispered in my ear. "And I'm going to get revenge on you for my uncle's death." He pulled back, still holding on to my chin. Then, to my absolute disgust, he crushed his rough, dry lips down upon mine.

He walked away laughing onto the aircraft.

**Yay, an update. Enjoy it. I seriously love you all, I'm just a busy person. Please, read and review! And don't give up on me or this story! :D**


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